Very Disapointed in New Apple Purchases.

I recently bought two I-pad minis for my children as well as Ipad Air for myself and the Mrs.....My intent of getting these was to allow my children to stream their favrite music and videos as well as complete their onloine learning sessions supported through school....Well they can go online and stream videos and listen to music, but this device is uselss for educational purposes. I've now tried it on every website supported by my kids School, and the only way I can get it to work is to download another browser, and tehy fail miserbly at accomplishing the task.

I guess I should have done more research, but I had no idea that Adobe flash player and java and their lack of support for IOS devices would affect so much.......I've down loaded every other web browser I could find to help them in their tasks and none are really sufficient. Most of their learning on the School websites use Adobe Flash for online learning games. With the extended lag time using these other browsers it makes copeting on these webiste and in these games nearly impossible. Not what you want from a device that cost $400.00/each.

I guess I should have looked further into it. I spent far too much money on these devices for them to be just for videos and music, and really would like to return them now. I guess I thought that we had no issues with our home's Mac Mini, so why would we have issues with the IPADS? I really wanted the Ipad to be a great personal tool to allow them to complete all their tasks and have fun as well.....

So now I have severely over priced toys that cannot really do what I want them to do, and feel like i've been ripped off by Apple. I guess I didn't realize that the OS and IOS were completely different platforms and it never enetered my thought patterns that one of the best companies in personal computing would allow such a travesty of non-conformity to hinder the usefulness of what are really very good devices. No one at the Apple store even brought this issue up to me, and I outlined in detail how I wanted to use them.

Ipads are not like phones....more and more people are using them as PC's at least for many online functions....so it's strange to me that this is the case with Apples coveted Ipads.....I just spent over $1500.00 on three devices that cannot accomplish basic tasks. I could have bought $ 200 to $300 PC Laptops that would have done the job a lot better.......

No product suits all needs. Many millions of people are successfully using iPads for far more than "videos and music", I among them, but if you're not happy with them, then return them. If you purchased from the Apple Store between November 1, 2013 and December 25, 2013, then you have through January 7, 2014 to return them. If you purchased from a dealer, then you'll have to ask the dealer about return policies.

Just FYI, neither Adobe nor Sun (before Oracle purchased them) were able to develop a version of their respective players that Apple considered workable for iOS devices, and given all the serious security problems both, and in particular Java, have had, I don't blame Apple for not allowing those packages into iOS in anything less than a completely secure and efficient form. But if your children's uses require games and apps that are not available in a standlone app form from the iTunes Store and hence demand Flash and Java, then by all means return the iPads and buy something else.

Varjak, thanks but no thanks......I don't need Diatribes, just some help, and understanding.....There are benefits to the IPADS with streaming video and the like, just too expensive if they cannot do it all......I said I like them, and I have all Apple product now in my home. It would have been too expensive for me to buy both of my kids Macbooks. I just feel mis-led.

Texas Mac Man, Thank you for the input.......

The School Actually supports Mac, but they use CPU's and are using the Mac full OS, not IOS......I've tried Most of these browsers, with limited success on the Schools supported website. I will give them all a try and let you know.

I just don't understand why Apple cannot approve a version of flash and Java for the IOS system the way they did for their CPU OS system? It would really put the icing on the cake....They do so much very well to have this limitation is crazy. I mean out of twenty websites for educational purposes I use for my kids only 8 work. That's not very good....

Govt. and educational websites do not get the attention they need due to funding and they run behind the technology....I cannot change that. I can only control the devices I buy to support what I need. Just disapointed. Not sure why apple wants people to have buyers remorse when their product and customer experience should be designed to delight. I appreciate the help.

Other PC companies do not use their Mobile operating systems for tablets they use the same OS systems that run their laptops and PC's...This is just frusrtaing to me. I think Apple needs to look at their i-Pads as CPU's/Laptops

I would accept these limitations on an Iphone, but not on $500-$800 and upTablets.

Varjak, thanks but no thanks......I don't need Diatribes, just some help, and understanding.....There are benefits to the IPADS with streaming video and the like, just too expensive if they cannot do it all......I said I like them, and I have all Apple product now in my home. It would have been too expensive for me to buy both of my kids Macbooks. I just feel mis-led.

I didn't post a "diatribe" and I'm offended that you characterized my post as such. I posted your only option, which is to return the iPads if they don't suit you, and I gave you the time frame within which Apple will accept a return. I fail to see how that constitues a "diatribe" in any way. And if you'll read my post, I already explained why Apple didn't allow Flash Player or Java on iOS devices. That wouldn't seem a "diatribe" either since you have asked that specific question.

There's nothing else we, your fellow users, can tell you if you've eliminated the possibility of a third-party app or one of the brower/service combinations meeting your needs. Again, if the iPads don't suit you, return them.

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